The present invention relates to a mobile terminal capable of being set up without interrupting a self-management function, a terminal setup method thereof, and a mobile terminal program thereof.
With the recent propagation of high-performance mobile terminals such as a smartphone or a tablet PC, use of such high-performance mobile terminals is not limited to private purpose but is more and more broaden to corporations which provide their employees with such high-performance mobile terminals for use as information terminals. It is often necessary to prevent leakage of information when such mobile terminals are lost or to restrict physical takeout or non-business use of such mobile terminals, by means of terminal management systems such as a MDM (Mobile Device Management) system.
For example, there are needs for restricting the use of a lost or stolen terminal by restricting startup of the terminal through the use of remote control or permitting startup of the terminal only through the use of only remote control, or for preventing the private use of a specific terminal by restricting installation of applications except for registered applications in a white list.
However, most terminals generally have the setting authority for the installed applications. Accordingly, when an employee forcibly stops an application for managing a terminal, there is a problem in that it is difficult to effectively manage the terminal.
In view of this problem, means for restricting functions of a mobile terminal is suggested based on the user's understanding of the functions of the mobile terminal.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2012-70143 (“YASUTAKE”) discloses a mobile terminal configured to present a question to a user, compare an input answer from the user with a stored answer in an authentication table to determine whether the both match, and unlock the restriction on the functions when the determination result satisfies predetermined criteria.
YASUTAKE provides a terminal configured to avoid undesirable performance of a function by confirming a user's correct understanding of the function before performing the function. Specifically, for example, when it is confirmed that a user understands that forcible stop or deletion of an application implementing a self-management function is inhibited, the stop or deletion of the application can be permitted. That is, it says that it is possible to prevent an employee from interrupting the self-management function by prescribing penalties for violation of internal regulations or the like.
However, YASUTAKE's terminal is able only to avoid an undesirable action on the basis of an employee's understanding. It can be said to be more effective that a mechanism for preventing occurrence of any undesirable action even when an employee performs any manipulation is basically necessary in consideration of takeout of a terminal.
Paying attention to an idea that a call of a setup screen can be detected by analyzing a call parameter of an application in a mobile terminal, the inventor thought that when a setup screen of a terminal is called, it is possible to detect the call of the setup screen and display a virtual setup screen in which setup items interrupting a self-management function is excluded instead of an original setup screen.